Chris Neal still shows his teams the video, the one where the Elon University women’s soccer players are jumping into each others arms, celebrating an early-season victory as if they had just won the World Cup.
The Phoenix, which had endured eight straight losing seasons and a brutal loss to North Carolina State University days earlier, had just beaten University of Maryland 1-0, a triumph that’d soon become the impetus of a rebuilding project Neal was taking on.
“It was a big-time moment for the program,” Neal said recently of the 2008 victory, his first as Elon’s coach. “I was like, 'Man, if we can beat Maryland at Maryland, we can win in the Southern Conference.'
“It was a big moment for us. To change a culture, you need one of those moments.”
Eight years later, Neal’s impact on Elon is clear. He led the Phoenix to a .500 record his first year and a winning mark the next. His teams reached one Southern Conference Tournament final and advanced to the semifinals two other times.
And now, after a 2-0 victory Aug. 19 against Charleston Southern University in this year’s season opener, Neal is the winningest coach in program history with 75 wins.
He’s been the mainstay as Elon’s program has evolved during a time in which it made the transition to the Colonial Athletic Association, a challenge that still confronts Neal each day.
A longtime assistant at University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Neal took the Elon job to fulfill a simple goal of his — to be a head coach at the Division I level. He saw the pieces in place to overhaul the culture and instill the confidence that had been lacking.
Elon won 12 games in both his second and third years on campus, signaling that the changes happened swiftly. It was the senior class on the 2013 team, which made the SoCon finals, that showcased the program’s progress and Neal’s development as a coach.
As freshmen and sophomores, Neal said, they were a “handful.” But there was talent and work ethic, and by the time they were seniors, everyone was on board.
“They checked every box,” Neal said. “We butted heads a lot early on, but we grew together in so many ways. Not just in soccer, but in life.”
Neal’s personal life has evolved since he arrived at Elon, too. When he took the job, he was a newlywed. He and his wife, Amy, have two children: 6-year-old daughter Josilyn and 4-year-old son Rex.
Josilyn goes to Elon Elementary, where Rex will soon matriculate, which gives Neal the opportunity to walk across campus and eat lunch with her.
“I’ve created my family at Elon,” Neal said. “There is no other place for us. We’ve made some tremendous friends in this community. I couldn’t see myself at other place.”
After the record-setting victory, Neal’s players delivered the coach a Powerade shower, a common tribute but one that he welcomed.
“It was a warm feeling in a weird way,” Neal said, “that your players care enough to dump an ice-cold Powerade bucket on your head. It really should’ve been them, because they deserve all the credit.”
Then, it was on to the next game. Another step in evolving the program.